Things are not right in the great country that we grew up in: Right on the heels of a Vermont case where a man was convicted of child rape and received only 60 days in jail, comes a case in Massachussetts where a man was convicted, and plead guilty of raping a 15 year-old boy, receiving no jail time at all, only probation. Details of the latest case are sketchy, however, in the earlier Vermont case, a former high school math and science teacher was convicted in January 2004 of child rape by Judge Delvecchio of the Vermont District Court.
The significance of these cases points out the desperate condition of the court system in this country and the quite valid reason for the President to appoint as many conservative judges (who apply, not make, law) as possible during his term in office. Before I start getting piles of howling protest comments from the moonbat left screaming about imperial US power and civil rights, let’s take a deep breath and demand that the government use some common sense. This kind of madness from our courts must stop or we are doomed as a nation. Or is it too late?
Are “things right” in the republic? Well, Joe, I have to base my measure upon a bit broader scale than that which you have posed here.
But, overall, yeah - things are pretty much going right. You have have to look at the status quo relative to how screwed-up things have been at other points in our history.
Comment by Kevin Connors — 20060119 @ 0212
Having no link, I can’t say, but was it perhaps only statutory rape, with the boy actually consenting, the illegality coming only from his age?
If that’s the case, probation seems perfectly plausible, perhaps combined with some counseling of the “I don’t care if he’s willing and hot, you have to wait until he’s legal” variety.
Comment by Sigivald — 20060119 @ 1213
Massachusetts judges are appointed, not elected. Therefore, politicians decide who gets appointed. Once appointed, it is practically impossible for a Massachusetts judge to be removed, no matter how incompetent or corrupt the judge may be. In reality, they have no accountability. The famous Massachusetts Supreme Court decision on homosexual marriage was made after the Chief Justice went on a tour of homosexual groups and requested legal suits that be decided in support of homosexual marriage. Any way you look at the issue, a judge actively pursuing an agenda through advertising is not considered too ethical.
This problem, coupled with the general police corruption, has led to many scandals over the last few years uncovered by lawyers working on contingency or for the ACLU. Inept or corrupt judges, perjured police testimony and phony police lab results have imprisoned many honest citizens and let criminals free. Recently, the Boston Police fingerprinting unit was reorganized because the officers there were giving false fingerprint information to get guilty convictions. Being Boston, however, the local newspapers gave this the “page 64 coverage” and few people read it. To my knowledge, it was not covered by the broadcast media.
http://www.nodp.org/ma/stacks/herald_062404.html
“We the people are the rightful master of both congress and the courts – not to
overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the
Constitution.” –Abraham Lincoln
“Every actual State is corrupt. Good men must not obey the laws too well.” –Ralph
Waldo Emerson
“Everything government touches turns to crap.” –Ringo Starr
Or, as the average Massachusetts citizen says, “Oh well, we’re better off than Rhode Island.”
Comment by gdgadfly — 20060119 @ 1254
When we lived in Maine, we all considered putting up a barrier over I-95 to keep the moonbats from “Massataxetts” out. But they brought their money, so we sighed, smiled, and took it from them……
Comment by Joe Comer — 20060120 @ 0207
Without knowing any details of either case, it’s pretty hard to say much. What I do know is that the courts often are impacted by social influences. I’ve seen those influences cause murder to have a lesser sentence than a DUI. Part of the problem is the mood of the public combined with the latest trendy mania.
Nothing is black and white as life comes in varying shades of gray, so mandatory sentences create more problems than they solve. There are enough laws (more than enough) on the books of every state to address crimes, but proper enforcement and sentencing fluctuates with the times. Apparently, rape isn’t as horrible as lighting up too close to non-smokers, which tells me women have lost protective ground over the last several years.
Comment by Kayse — 20060120 @ 0821
Thanks for the link, gdgadfly. I’ll have to check that story out. The quote from Lincoln, a President who never considered himself encumbered by something as trifling as the Constitution, is more dubious.
Comment by Kevin Connors — 20060120 @ 1730
Kevin,
Much of Mr. Lincoln’s issues with the Constitution seem to be solutions on the pragmatic. Later, the Supreme Court itself would decide that the Constitution is not a “suicide pact” or, during WW I, that conscription was not illegal as the United States must first ensure its existence before it can protect human rights. There is a short discussion at:
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/237931in.html
I haven’t read this fellow’s book yet as I’m in the middle of “Team of Rivals” by Goodwin. That is a lesson in Mr. Lincoln’s ability to think “outside the box.”
Another quote from Lincoln that I often think of is:
“Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step over the ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! — All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a Thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
Abraham Lincoln
Is our suicide to be by the internal corruption of our society?
Comment by gdgadfly — 20060120 @ 1920
Yeah, that’s from his 1838 “Lyceum” speech, where Lincoln established himself early-on as a dyed-in-the-wool unionist. I suggest you also look at Lincoln’s 7/4/61 address to the Joint Session of Congress - what a pantload! Lincoln even goes so far as to claim Texas was never a sovereign state.
Secession was dealt with in White v. Texas 1869. And West Virginia statehood was Virginia v. West Virginia 1871. I would argue that both of those decisions were made de facto by the War Between the States. And, absent that precondition, the Supremes might have gone the other way.
Comment by Kevin Connors — 20060120 @ 2328